National Highways is advising drivers travelling southbound on the M5 near Exeter to allow extra time for their journeys as overnight repairs start tonight (January 9) on the Exe Viaduct.

A half-mile section of lane 1 of the southbound carriageway between junctions 30 and 31 has been closed for safety reasons over the Christmas and New Year holiday period due to a bridge defect.

The fractured bridge expansion joint plate was detected by a monitoring system in operation on the Exe viaduct, which carries the M5 over the River Exe, and specialist repair work will start tonight under overnight lane 1 and 2 closures.

Lane 3 will remain open for traffic between 8pm and 6am, with a 50mph speed restriction in place, and during the day, lanes 2 and 3 will be kept open to traffic.

Terry Robinson, National Highways' Engineering Manager for the South West, said: "We're reducing capacity to one lane overnight to protect the workforce carrying out repairs, and during the day, due to the safety critical nature of the defect, we need to keep the lane 1 closure in place to protect the travelling public and prevent any potential vehicle damage.

"We're carrying out the work overnight to minimise disruption, the repairs are programmed for five nights but we're hoping to fully reopen all lanes as soon as it is safe to do so.

"In the meantime we ask people to plan ahead and allow a little extra time for their journeys between junctions 29 and 31."

Further information about this incident is available from National Highways by visiting www.trafficengland.com and Twitter updates are also available at @HighwaysSWEST. For urgent real-time assistance, there is a 24/7 contact centre team is able to provide up-to-the minute information on 0300 123 5000.